Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-10-01
rney may nav contained putrer. we
all know the excellence of French butter.
Will you swear that they did not contain
brfforY,l

l NoN SNSOA SLSAo SAASS GlNA llOt COlllStlu
butter?''
"No."
One or two other witnesses were ex-
amined, who all sworc to the same facts.
One thing was clear, that had it not been
for that unlucky little bottle Of brandy,
the prosecution would have broken down
completely.
Three witnesses for character were
called.
The principal evidence was the Rev.
Benjamin Burden, rector of Rousdon.
The poor old rector, a veritable peasant
priest, stood in the witness box clad in
his tattered cassock and his battered old
wig, yet bearing upon him the dignity of
his sacred calling. The sergeant handled
him with much softness II delicacy. He
made him inform the court that he was
the rector of Rousdon, that its population
was fourteen, his stipend was thirty eight
pounds and his church was n barn. This
melancholy condition of things moved tho
jury in his favor and dissipatcd the bud
effect which might otherwise have been
produced upon a fat and we'll fed jury,
clad in strong broadcloth. by his rags and
his evident poverty.
The counsel went on to elicit from tho
rector that Dan Gulliver was his church
warden, and that with his two sons he
kept the church in such repair rs made
divine service possible. The clergyman
added, quite simply and with dignity. that
Dan CULVER was a worthy and religious
man who lived the life Of true Christian.
The sergeant emphasized these replies
one after the other, each with Il wave of
his hand toward the jury, as much as to
say: "You hear this, gentlemcn: you will
~, --:l>>n>>c Al:. l,.1., -.
lister Of religion"
ever, lost its whole weight when the
counsel for the prosecution asked him one
or two questions in a different direction.
He said:
81 fear, MI. Burden, that the lamcnta-
BILE cxiguity Of Your income must shut you
out from the enjoyment of many of our
choicest blessings-port wine, for in
stance?"
The rector shook his head sadly.
81 believe that l remember the taste Of
port" he said, "but l cannot be surc-it
is so long since I saw any,"
"Brandy cannot altogether replace port,
can it?" asked the barrister.
at cannot" said the rector.
" l dare say you get brandy, at least
sometimesy"
81 do" said the rector.
"Asa present, nov: from n parishioncr?"
II have it given to me-" said the rec
tor, "by my c~hurchwarden, Dan Guilt
ver."
~ will not ask you,' said the counsel,
evidence YOU imagine this brandy to be
derived. l prefer to think that you ask
no questions and have no suspicious. 1t
would he too much to believe that divine
Of your age and position should countc-
nance the practice of smuggling"
Then followed other witnesses and more
fencing.
Presently the counsel for the crown
made his speech. 1t was very short.
"Herc,' he said, twas q man, with his two
sons, and n stranger, probably a hired
hand. The man was well known to be n
smugglcr-so we'll known that he was
afraid Lyme Regis was, to 4 man, in alli-
ance with him to defeat the ends of jus
ticc, and shielded him steadily in his runs
to and from the coast of France. He was
caught, so to speak, rcd handed"
1t was impossible to resist the convic-
ton that the rest Of the kegs which com
posed the cargo contained, like the one
which had been opened, brandy. OF
course it was open to any one to maintain
the improbable. HIS learned brother
might nsk them to believe that these four
men had crossed the channel and landed
on an cncmy's coast, in quest of potatoes,
cabbagcs, fruit, butter, or any other mar
kctable article. The u%ndisputcd fucts
We're, that here was a man with IL fast
sailing craft and IL fishing boat-what
was the object of the former? That his
most intimate friends admitted that they
| rnpail,nfl ~ md - rnp,, f,r,,, I:-,
Where did he procure that brandy? That
he was VIGOROUSLY n smugglcr by profess
sion. As regarded the evidence OF the
maj Skirling, the actual fact could not
be disputed, although the act itself showed
n low tone Of morality, which all would
regret to find existing in so respectable a
body as the revenue service. No doubt
the gallant officer who had effected the
arrest with SO much promptitude and
courage, although with Il little indiscrc-
ton, would take cognizance of the offcnsc
in his military capacity. Finally lie
asked the jury to give a verdict for the
prosecution, and SO strike terror into the
hearts OF other evil doers and dcfiers of
the law.
When our %counsel's turn came he made
q most eloquent and indignant speech.
According to him, Dan Gullivcr, the much
maligncd, was an admirable specimen OF
II class which formed, lie said, the back
bone OF Our country; he was u yeoman,
farming the few acres which formed his
paternal estate, and living frugally with
his son md ar adopted daughter in n cot
tagc upon his own land. For fishing pur-
poses he had two boats, one Of them,
called the Dancing Polly, being u re.
markably fast sailer. On this particular
night he had been along the coast picking
up, no doubt, 4 cargo of butter and eggs,
or it might be fish, and such harmless
matters, and proposing to return to Rous.
don bay, u little creek or inlet Of the sea
Immediately below his farm.
Here he protested against the assump.
ton that the expedition had been across
the channel. GLOW can you prove it:
How came the suspicion to arise? Was it
likely that in SO small n vessel, at that
stormy period of the year, four men would
venture on a voyage SO dangerous? What
is more common than n trading voyage
along the coast? What more reasonable
to suppose than that u small farmer with
u taste for sailing and boating should
carry on such q trade? AZ least, gentle
men, till the contrary is proved, you have
no right to suppose that the object of
keeping the Dancing Polly was u crimi-
nal one"
Daniel CULVER, he went on to say, was
accompanied by. the two boys and a
stranger. No secrecy was observed about
the expedition, and some idle or malig-
nant person, one Of those creeping things
which infest every society of men, thought
it worth while to communicate the pro-
posed voyage to Lieut.. Pollard, that gall
liant officer whose discretion was not
equal to his zeal, and whose cagcrncss to
protect his majesty's revenue led him to